The Use of Chemical Weapons: The United States Response and Strategies in The Syrian civil War

Ebrima Jatta, Omar Samba, Ahmad Sahide

Abstract


This research aims at exploring the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict, in particular, the dilemma of the American policymakers in response to the use of prohibited weapons in the Syrian conflict. The use of chemical weapons in Syria has been a major source of tension, but one could wonder what were the strategies employed by the US in responding to use of chemical weapons in Syria. Syrian crisis has been marked by a number of horrible acts of conventional violence, we can see that this conventional brutality was insufficient to lead to the US interventionist foreign policy. Why was it thought that the use of chemical weapons would determine whether or not the US would intervene militarily? These are some of the issues that this paper typically identifies. The study collected, examined, and analyzed secondary data on the US response using a qualitative case study approach. The arguments produced in this study were based on three theoretical frameworks: constructivism, strategic narrative, and framing concept. According to the study's findings, there have been three major strategies. The US utilized framing, the taboo against chemical weapons, and intervention strategies in carrying out a response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria.


Keywords


United States; Syrian Civil War; Chemical Weapons; Strategic Narrative; Framing Effects

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18415/ijmmu.v10i1.4270

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